There comes a time in every woman's life when she has to part ways with someone who knows her really well, someone who knows how to make her feel beautiful, someone who listens to her concerns and does their best to make her the most magnificent version of herself possible. This "someone?" Her hair stylist. And for me, the time to break up may be coming. *Sigh.*A little background: After years of renting, my husband and I bought our house about 3 years ago. When we moved, I decided it was time for me to find MY stylist, and started going to Gene Juarez, the Seattle-based chain of middle to high end hair salons, where I found the perfect stylist for me. She was young, nice, funny...she listened to me and always gave me a good cut. Plus, she was pretty cheap--about $30. Not bad. So for 3 years, I've been seeing her regularly, happily paying for the two $5 increases along the way.
A few months back, I decided to grow up and stop dying my own hair, and went back to Gene Juarez for my partial foil. Yes, it's expensive, but I was willing to pay the $125 for the foil plus the $40 for a hair cut. I figured, hell...I work full time, my husband works full time, we're childless...why not spend about $170 (before the tip) on my hair?
That was then. Now I have a whole new reality to come to terms with. My stylist's price just increased 25%....what was $40 will now cost me $50, and I'm too scared to ask what my colorist will now be charging. I'm fearful that my formerly $170 cut and color will now be more like, oh, $200 or higher, not including the tip.
I don't know about you, but for me, a 25% rate hike in 8 months seems really high. I wish my pay would jump 25% every 8 months, that's for sure! I'm thinking it might be time to jump ship. As much as it pains me, I need to start playing the field.
So, I'm interested in your opinions on the following:
- Do you have a dollar limit for what you're willing to spend on your hair?
- How do you find a decent stylist? Who do you trust?
- If you live in Bothell/Mill Creek/Lynnwood/Snohomish/Everett area of Washington state, do you have a good stylist and colorist you could recommend?
